Fox Sports West has "pulled Dodgers game broadcasts
from 90,000" subscribers to Marcus Cable in CA, with cable
companies Charter, Media One, Comcast and Time Warner also
"weighing whether to pay higher charges or leave subscribers
Dodgers-less," according to Hoffarth & Huffaker of the L.A.
DAILY NEWS, who write that the "tug-of-war between Marcus
and Fox reflects a widening dispute that could affect more
... cable TV customers." At the center of the matter is Fox
seeking "more money from companies to broadcast 40 more
Dodgers games" than the 40 contractually obligated, for a
total of 80. Should companies refuse to pay, "they'll get
alternative [FSN] programming" replacing Dodgers and Angels
games. Despite the difference amounting to "an extra 10 to
15 cents per customer per month," Paul Allen's Charter
Communications, which bought Marcus last year, decided that
"instead of continuing to pay fees detailed in Marcus'
contract," they would pay a "lower rate" than that of other
Charter customers. However, U.S. District Court Judge Terry
Hatter ruled in FSN's favor of Charter honoring the original
contract with Marcus (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/10).
